There's a man and a woman still fighting on the left, and as light bursts from their wands, their features are illuminated and it's clear who they are: Ms. Altizer and Mr. Berzelius, fighting off awful flying things back to back, both grinning wildly, the best date night they've had in years.
On the left, Ms. Treetops tosses a silver white light from the end of her wand: a cactus cat gallops up into the air, catching a blast of purple energy and shielding students from the blow. Dr. Ranui tosses something from his pocket that explodes like fireworks in the sky, shattering the mask of the Cultist floating overhead.
And then, Mr. Purcell, sprints toward the group, effortlessly exploding every vine that tries to grab him. When he grins his grim smile, it's right at the gathered students. He is not part of the memory. None of them are. They are all here, as you are, to see Caleb Qualls to the end of this awful dream. "I don't know how you kids got here, but we need your help." He turns his attention to the frozen Mr. Qualls, "Don't worry, Caleb. We'll cut you a path. C'mon!"
Merlin doesn't have to be told twice. Even in the midst of this absolute chaos, what needs to be done is obvious and there's only one way to clear the path. He glances back briefly at the others and gives a small but resolute nod. He's never been good with words and there isn't time for them now anyway, but he's got their backs. He's ready to go through hell with them. Then he turns, taking off quickly after Mr. Purcell with his Draco Nine Tails in his hand and wand secured in his jacket's inner pocket. He silently readies himself for the first monstrosity that gets in the way.
Edited (Sorry for the delaaaay.) 2020-06-10 17:51 (UTC)
You can't spit without hitting something angry about how many legs it has on this long stretch of asphalt. Merlin's ready with a linchpin whip to slap some strange crablike-monstrosity out of the air (ROLLED 7+1), tearing off one of its wings. Though losing one of those doesn't stop the thing from hopping back up on its six legs and skittering toward the group.
Imogen unleashes a patronus (ROLLED 8) that catches a cloud of shadowy Birds, disintegrating some and scattering the rest. What remains of the flock swoops but Imogen ducks neatly (ROLLED 10) beneath their attack.
There's no telling just how much you'll have to fight through, there's still so much farther to go. Keep pushing!
[Your targets are: 1 flying crab, 1 injured flying crab (on the ground), 1 injured flock of birds, 2 vines, easily accessible. In the back, there is a Cultist, harder to get at. There may be more as well]
"Coming!" Armani calls, skittering along after the Cool Older Kids. He's got a trident! And he's a little afraid to use it! But that's not going to stop him from trying to impress the others!
He rushes in to try to skewer ground crab with it and hopes it looks very cool.
Armani charges the skittering horror, its one wing flapping as it moves (ROLLED 9 + 1) and runs the creature right through with his cactrident. To add insult to injury, the bird lands on the crab kebab, and pecks at the limp creature's carapace.
Not slowing down and realizing that Armani has the first of the crustaceans handled, Merlin rushes toward the second flying crab. He attempts to knock it out of the sky with a crushing downward blow from the Draco Nine Tails, apparently wanting to do more than just knock some wings off this time.
Merlin (ROLLED 9 + 1) smashes the second winged spiderling out of the air with his linchpin, stars sparking and bursting against the cracking carapace. Before it hits the ground, Armani skewers the weakened shell (ROLLED 7 + 1), and the two of them put a sound end to the creature.
All around, teachers are still fighting, flinging spells and even fighting with foot and fist where needed.
Caleb Qualls and his possee of young adults stutter to a start, taking a few running steps forward before freezing once more.
Lionel reduces the situation to its simplest form because dwelling on the emotions of the moment, the gravity of it, the stakes, it's all too much for him. With wet eyes, he locates the nearest vines and casts with great conviction, "Glacius."
A spray of ice from Lionel's wand decimates one of the two vines (ROLLED 10).
Ms. Treetops joins him, nearly bumping shoulders with the Muggle Studies TA as she throws her wand forward to blast the other vine with ice. How long has it's been since the students of Peckenpaugh saw the real Tansy Treetops? How long since Tansy had seen any of them? "You're doing great. We'll get them there." she says.
Behind them, Mr. Qualls continues his stuttering trek forward.
TWO VINES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. One flock of birds and one cultist remain!
"Hi, Ms. Treetops," Armani greets politely as he places the toe of his boot onto his crab kebab and yanks his trident free. He charges forward at full speed to close some distance before chucking it like a javelin at the cultist.
Edited (gotta Throw Shit when there's Shit To Throw) 2020-06-11 02:21 (UTC)
Suddenly, a form appears behind the teachers and students fighting their way through the field. Someone unexpected. Someone who doesn't want to be here and somehow found their way here anyway.
Is that fear on Mr. Purcell's face? It should be.
A semi-feral chaos child sprints screaming into the fray, swinging a giant maple seed from a muscheron's memory. They stop long enough to swing around and shotput the seed into the swarm of birds.
Edited (surprise quackenbush in the house) 2020-06-11 03:02 (UTC)
Armani lets his cactrident sail through the air (ROLLED 10 + 1) and it pierces the heart of the Cultist. So expert a throw, there's simply no time for the Cultist to disperse and avoid the blow.
With a cactrident sticking right out of it, the Cultist swirls unevenly. Imogen (ROLLED 7 + 1) smacks the thing off its feet, setting fire to the edges of its swirling smoke robes.
It has just enough time to release a blast of purple light (ROLLED 2), scortching Armani and Imogen and Cedar. But the little sophomore has already let their massive maple seed fly (ROLLED 8) the not-a-nut sails through the air, cracks the Cultist's mask and shatters it.
There's no time to watch clusters of flowers. No time to see the face that hides behind them. You have to run, you have to go, while there's a path, you need to move.
Flanked by modern students and the current Peckenpaugh staff, Caleb Qualls sprints down the street toward the bowling alley. Old and new fight creatures real and fake, swinging weapons and slinging spells.
Mr. Purcell compliments Merlin on his form when he smashes a swarm of Bugs to smithereens, and nothing can touch Imogen weilding wand and torch. Armani and his accidental woodpecker friend make short work of anything within reach of his cactrident. Altizer and Berzelius have a brief argument about which House representative has smashed more monsters: Merlin or Armani, and nothing can get close to Mr. Qualls with Lionel flinging ice whenever anything draws near. Even Cedar, chaos incarnate, manages to smash some vines when they trip on them and fall.
It's hard to say how long they've run, how much they've fought, as the scene stutters, starts and stops. For every foot they advance, at times it feels as though they've jumped back three. But they get there, to the door of the bowling alley. One Caleb Qualls steps forward, leaving a copy behind to watch. He steps toward young Monty Crockett standing just inside. He's clutching that patched leather jacket, watching Lionel Qualls disappears down the far stairwell.
"Monty! What's happening?" says the memory's Mr. Qualls, pushing through the group toward the young werewolf's side.
Meanwhile, the other Caleb Qualls turns to Lionel Lovelace. Mr. Qualls grins at Lionel, grips him by the arm and gives it a squeeze — something he's never been able to do before, and will never be able to do again. "I knew I picked the right TA," he says, as this tattered memory continues to play.
Young Montgomery Crockett turns to the gathered crowd, seeing only his peers and his Muggle Studies teacher. "He's going to save her. To save—"
The memory rips and tears. A very real blast of something — wind? energy? a spell? — shunts everyone forward, through flames, through vines, right out that portal and back into the Sorting Path.
***
Armani, Cedar, Imogen, Lionel and Merlin saw through the memory "They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls"!
The student adventurers, Caspian Ranui, Alva Berzelius, Clytemnestra Altizer, Tansy Treetops and Lancelot Purcell were all expelled from the memory with incredible force. The portal tore apart the moment the last one was free.
Here in the sorting path the spirit of Caleb Qualls was freed! He stands before you clutching his son's patched leather jacket, glowing gold.
Lionel can only bite the corner of his lower lip and nod at his teacher. "Thank you," he finally says. "I've learned a lot." That's all he can say. He hopes it's enough.
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peckenpaugh2020-06-01 11:19 am
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
On the left, Ms. Treetops tosses a silver white light from the end of her wand: a cactus cat gallops up into the air, catching a blast of purple energy and shielding students from the blow. Dr. Ranui tosses something from his pocket that explodes like fireworks in the sky, shattering the mask of the Cultist floating overhead.
And then, Mr. Purcell, sprints toward the group, effortlessly exploding every vine that tries to grab him. When he grins his grim smile, it's right at the gathered students. He is not part of the memory. None of them are. They are all here, as you are, to see Caleb Qualls to the end of this awful dream. "I don't know how you kids got here, but we need your help." He turns his attention to the frozen Mr. Qualls, "Don't worry, Caleb. We'll cut you a path. C'mon!"
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
She swings her arm as she goes, throwing out a hopeful patronus to help clear the way.
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
Imogen unleashes a patronus (ROLLED 8) that catches a cloud of shadowy Birds, disintegrating some and scattering the rest. What remains of the flock swoops but Imogen ducks neatly (ROLLED 10) beneath their attack.
There's no telling just how much you'll have to fight through, there's still so much farther to go. Keep pushing!
[Your targets are: 1 flying crab, 1 injured flying crab (on the ground), 1 injured flock of birds, 2 vines, easily accessible. In the back, there is a Cultist, harder to get at. There may be more as well]
Re: MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
He rushes in to try to skewer ground crab with it and hopes it looks very cool.
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
ONE OF THE FLYING CRABS IS DEFEATED! Keep going!
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
All around, teachers are still fighting, flinging spells and even fighting with foot and fist where needed.
Caleb Qualls and his possee of young adults stutter to a start, taking a few running steps forward before freezing once more.
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
Lionel reduces the situation to its simplest form because dwelling on the emotions of the moment, the gravity of it, the stakes, it's all too much for him. With wet eyes, he locates the nearest vines and casts with great conviction, "Glacius."
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
Ms. Treetops joins him, nearly bumping shoulders with the Muggle Studies TA as she throws her wand forward to blast the other vine with ice. How long has it's been since the students of Peckenpaugh saw the real Tansy Treetops? How long since Tansy had seen any of them? "You're doing great. We'll get them there." she says.
Behind them, Mr. Qualls continues his stuttering trek forward.
TWO VINES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. One flock of birds and one cultist remain!
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
Is that fear on Mr. Purcell's face? It should be.
A semi-feral chaos child sprints screaming into the fray, swinging a giant maple seed from a muscheron's memory. They stop long enough to swing around and shotput the seed into the swarm of birds.
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls - COMPLETE
With a cactrident sticking right out of it, the Cultist swirls unevenly. Imogen (ROLLED 7 + 1) smacks the thing off its feet, setting fire to the edges of its swirling smoke robes.
It has just enough time to release a blast of purple light (ROLLED 2), scortching Armani and Imogen and Cedar. But the little sophomore has already let their massive maple seed fly (ROLLED 8) the not-a-nut sails through the air, cracks the Cultist's mask and shatters it.
There's no time to watch clusters of flowers. No time to see the face that hides behind them. You have to run, you have to go, while there's a path, you need to move.
Flanked by modern students and the current Peckenpaugh staff, Caleb Qualls sprints down the street toward the bowling alley. Old and new fight creatures real and fake, swinging weapons and slinging spells.
Mr. Purcell compliments Merlin on his form when he smashes a swarm of Bugs to smithereens, and nothing can touch Imogen weilding wand and torch. Armani and his accidental woodpecker friend make short work of anything within reach of his cactrident. Altizer and Berzelius have a brief argument about which House representative has smashed more monsters: Merlin or Armani, and nothing can get close to Mr. Qualls with Lionel flinging ice whenever anything draws near. Even Cedar, chaos incarnate, manages to smash some vines when they trip on them and fall.
It's hard to say how long they've run, how much they've fought, as the scene stutters, starts and stops. For every foot they advance, at times it feels as though they've jumped back three. But they get there, to the door of the bowling alley. One Caleb Qualls steps forward, leaving a copy behind to watch. He steps toward young Monty Crockett standing just inside. He's clutching that patched leather jacket, watching Lionel Qualls disappears down the far stairwell.
"Monty! What's happening?" says the memory's Mr. Qualls, pushing through the group toward the young werewolf's side.
Meanwhile, the other Caleb Qualls turns to Lionel Lovelace. Mr. Qualls grins at Lionel, grips him by the arm and gives it a squeeze — something he's never been able to do before, and will never be able to do again. "I knew I picked the right TA," he says, as this tattered memory continues to play.
Young Montgomery Crockett turns to the gathered crowd, seeing only his peers and his Muggle Studies teacher. "He's going to save her. To save—"
The memory rips and tears. A very real blast of something — wind? energy? a spell? — shunts everyone forward, through flames, through vines, right out that portal and back into the Sorting Path.
Armani, Cedar, Imogen, Lionel and Merlin saw through the memory "They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls"!
The student adventurers, Caspian Ranui, Alva Berzelius, Clytemnestra Altizer, Tansy Treetops and Lancelot Purcell were all expelled from the memory with incredible force. The portal tore apart the moment the last one was free.
Here in the sorting path the spirit of Caleb Qualls was freed! He stands before you clutching his son's patched leather jacket, glowing gold.
MEMORY: They've Got Him, Mr. Qualls - COMPLETE
Not all goodbyes have the word 'goodbye.'